U.S. steps up operations in Baghdad
Source: Reuters
(Updates with Baghdad operations, senior U.S. commander) By Dean Yates and Claudia Parsons BAGHDAD, March 4 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops began major operations in a Shi'ite militia bastion in Baghdad on Sunday, meeting little resistance as they searched homes for illegal weapons and carried out patrols. The operations in Sadr City, stronghold of the Mehdi Army of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, could test Iraqi and U.S. determination to enforce a new security plan seen as a final attempt to stop Iraq sliding into all-out sectarian civil war. The young firebrand is a key supporter of Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. "Deliberate clearing operations have begun in Sadr City," said U.S. military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver, adding more raids would be carried out in the coming days. A U.S. military statement said 600 American and 550 Iraqi security forces took part in the operation. Garver said there was little resistance. Many members of the Mehdi Army are either lying low or have left Baghdad, unlike in 2004 when the militia twice rose up against American forces. Washington calls the Mehdi Army the greatest threat to Iraq's security. Lieutenant-General Raymond Odierno, the number 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, said around 700 Shi'ite militants had been arrested in the past two months. Many were Mehdi Army members, he told CNN. Garver said Sunday's operation was the largest in the teeming Shi'ite slum since Operation Imposing Law was launched three weeks ago. JOINT SECURITY STATION U.S. military officials said a Joint Security Station with Iraqi and U.S. forces would be established in Sadr City soon. Some 30 such stations will be set up in Baghdad, where U.S. and Iraqi forces will live side-by-side in an attempt to ensure cleared areas are not retaken by militants. Maliki on Sunday told insurgents fighting his U.S.-backed government to accept an olive branch or face a security crackdown that will cover "every inch" of Iraq. The prime minister also said he might announce a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle within two weeks. He is expected to replace under-performing ministers in a revamp he has promised for several months. Speaking at a conference aimed at speeding up reconciliation among Iraq's warring factions, Maliki said political consensus could be achieved only if Iraq was stable. Maliki has been pleased with the early results of the security crackdown. The offensive has reduced sectarian death squad killings although car bombings are still common. "We do not need to implement security measures except against those who reject the language of reconciliation and dialogue, those who insist on restoring the past," Maliki said, in a reference to Sunni Arab insurgents loyal to Saddam Hussein. "We present in our hand a green olive branch, and in the other hand we present the law ... Operation Imposing Law started in Baghdad, it will cover every inch of Iraq." Shi'ite officials have said the government could collapse if the crackdown fails to restrain sectarian violence. Maliki has pledged to tackle Shi'ite militias as vigorously as Sunni insurgents, although some Sunni leaders are sceptical and accuse him of being half-hearted in attempts to placate minority Sunni Arabs who were dominant under Saddam. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed)
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